"The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant"
About this Quote
A stark reminder of intellectual humility runs through much of Plato’s work, voiced most sharply by Socrates in the Apology: the wisest person is the one who knows the limits of his knowledge. The claim that what we know is small compared with what we do not know invites a stance of curiosity rather than complacency. It cuts against the human urge to treat hard-won facts as a finished map of reality. Every answer opens new questions, and each small island of understanding is surrounded by a sea of uncertainty.
Plato dramatizes this insight through the elenchus, Socrates’ practice of questioning confident beliefs until they collapse into aporia, a state of puzzlement. Aporia is not failure but a clearing of the ground, a recognition of ignorance that makes genuine inquiry possible. Without it, people cling to opinion, mistake habit for truth, and resist correction. The admission of ignorance is therefore ethical as well as epistemic: it fosters dialogue, patience, and openness to evidence.
The allegory of the cave sharpens the point. Prisoners take shadows for reality, believing their knowledge complete. Only by acknowledging the poverty of that knowledge can one turn toward the light. Even then, ascent reveals how limited prior certainties were. Human cognition grasps shifting particulars; the Forms, if they exist, elude us directly. The gap between seeming and being is vast.
Modern science confirms rather than refutes this outlook. Discovery enlarges the perimeter of the unknown. Each breakthrough redraws the edge where mysteries begin, so progress both informs and humbles us. The claim is not an invitation to skepticism that paralyzes action, but a discipline: act on the best available reasons while staying ready to revise.
Such humility is a guard against dogmatism and a spur to learning. Knowing that we do not know keeps wonder alive, steadies judgment, and orients the soul toward truth rather than victory.
Plato dramatizes this insight through the elenchus, Socrates’ practice of questioning confident beliefs until they collapse into aporia, a state of puzzlement. Aporia is not failure but a clearing of the ground, a recognition of ignorance that makes genuine inquiry possible. Without it, people cling to opinion, mistake habit for truth, and resist correction. The admission of ignorance is therefore ethical as well as epistemic: it fosters dialogue, patience, and openness to evidence.
The allegory of the cave sharpens the point. Prisoners take shadows for reality, believing their knowledge complete. Only by acknowledging the poverty of that knowledge can one turn toward the light. Even then, ascent reveals how limited prior certainties were. Human cognition grasps shifting particulars; the Forms, if they exist, elude us directly. The gap between seeming and being is vast.
Modern science confirms rather than refutes this outlook. Discovery enlarges the perimeter of the unknown. Each breakthrough redraws the edge where mysteries begin, so progress both informs and humbles us. The claim is not an invitation to skepticism that paralyzes action, but a discipline: act on the best available reasons while staying ready to revise.
Such humility is a guard against dogmatism and a spur to learning. Knowing that we do not know keeps wonder alive, steadies judgment, and orients the soul toward truth rather than victory.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
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